James F. Talbutt, son of Robert H. and Jane Ann (Hall) Talbutt, was born in Lexington, KY, attended Lexington High School, and earned his B.S. in Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania in 1906. He worked in New York for some years, earning two Beaux Arts medals while employed by Pell & Corbett and by W. W. Bosworth, before returning to Philadelphia in the employ of Bissell & Sinkler, Furness, Evans & Co., John T. Windrim, and Charles Willing. In 1921 after the office of Willing & Sims was established, Talbutt associated with the office, and the name of the firm was revised to Willing, Sims & Talbutt. He remained with the office until it dissolved in 1953 and then worked for the U.S. National Park Service from 1959 to 1966. During this period he was engaged in the reconstruction of several historic buildings, including the Bishop White House in Society Hill, Philadelphia, and part of Independence Hall.